LEED Programme (Local Economic and Employment Development)

Review on Strengthening Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Development at Local Level, Croatia, 21-25 May 2007

The review is a joint project between the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID). It is implemented by the OECD LEED Trento Centre for Local Development, the USAID Mission to Croatia and USAID’s partner institution World Learning.

Capacity Building for Strengthening Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Development

National government ministries and development agencies responsible for entrepreneurship and SME policies are presented with the difficult question of how to develop policies that are sufficiently tailored to diverging local conditions and delivered at an appropriate level of proximity to SMEs and entrepreneurs. Furthermore, where elements of policy design and delivery are decentralised to local level they face the question of how to ensure that there are sufficient local powers, resources and capacities to undertake the required functions.

The review will provide the opportunity for policy makers at national and sub-national levels in Croatia to work with international experts in refining the entrepreneurship and SME policy design and delivery approach and identifying the best range and mix of policies and delivery arrangements for national and local circumstances.

There will be a strong focus on achieving the right range and combination of policy instruments to address the market and government failures that arise at national and sub-national levels, as well as the right balance between national and local policy design and delivery arrangements in the entrepreneurship and SME development field.

The Project

The project is carried out through peer review by an international panel comprised of OECD, USAID Croatia, World Learning and entrepreneurship and SME development practitioners and experts from OECD countries.It is composed of the following elements:

Diagnostic workAn initial diagnostic report was prepared by a local expert detailing the existing policy environment and identifying policy development challenges. This report served as background document to the international panel of experts’ fieldwork mission. It was also be used to help identify the main issues that need to be explored in depth in the review.

Study visit, 21-24 May 2007This study visit by an international review team led by the OECD Secretariat, USAID Croatia and World Learning Croatia assessed the options for adjustments to the entrepreneurship and SME policy framework at national and local levels in Croatia in the light of information on frameworks in other countries. This included an assessment of the potential to introduce new instruments or to alter the balance of instruments used either nationally or in specific regions or localities, in order to better reflect local conditions. It also assessed the options for adjusting the distribution of policy design and delivery responsibilities between national and local levels and for building local capacities in support of decentralised approaches.

Capacity building seminar, 25 May 2007
A capacity building seminar was organised to discuss the findings and recommendations of the draft report, to assess how the recommendations can be put into place, and to involve participants in interactive work on adapting international good practices in development of entrepreneurship and SME policies. It made case study presentations of international learning models/best practices in fostering entrepreneurship, innovation and economic development. It included a presentation of recent OECD work on entrepreneurship policy development in South East Europe.

Final reportThis document provides the full review panel report on Strengthening Entrepreneurship
Innovation and Economic Development at the Local Level in Croatia and is the result of an active
review of entrepreneurship policies design and delivery in Croatia, with a special focus on the two
counties of Varaždin and Bjelovar.